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Born-Kite StreetStar


windstruck

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Too cool Sean @ssayre !  This is exactly why I sent it to you, because I knew you could take it through its paces.  I don't have experience or equipment for street kiting.  I hadn't thought of the aspect of one handed control with your non-dominant hand.  Agreed, that would be funky at first.

I like that the kite takes some work to fly skill wise.  Something to aspire towards!  Rock on!

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15 hours ago, Darren Tibbey said:

Were you overpowered the day you were flying this @ssayre? Makes me want to go buy a longboard. They are cheap as chips, opens up a whole new area for kiting. Car parks everwhere here. 

No, wind was about perfect.  I would guess 10-12 mph wind with gusts higher.  You really can't street kite overpowered because you can only lean so far before wheels will slip.  4m is a great size for longboard.  A 2.5m and 4m is about all you need.

I've been using nasa kites and longboard for years.  I've always that it was an under rated discipline.  

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@ssayre - I'm curious if the kite effectively had a DP function.  Were you able to modulate power with the bar that resulted in changes of force as one might think about with a DP kite?  Hard to tell for sure, but AOA did seem to be modulated a bit when I flew it static.  My only flight was at the top of my driveway for a few minutes in truly crappy winds.  About the most dynamic movement I was able to test was running about 10 yards with it.  Hardly a test.

Any video?

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the depower works, its similar to a peak.  trailing edge flutters without tension but you lose all steering depowered.  Not unlike trying to turn a depower with the bar all of the way out.  It turns solely by the back lines so without tension it doesn't turn.  flying unhooked, you have to find the sweet spot between power and depower.  Almost like flying a nasa on 4 line without z bridle but different.

I don't think the depower is that usable unless flown hooked in which I have not done.  I would guess it would be a dream for those with hard pack beach or beach pathway that can cruise long distances.  you could hook in and have full control over the power I would imagine.  Still a balancing act as there is no built in limiter like a standard depow bar has.  I might rig a harness line and try it on a longer stretch although I'm always a little leary hooking in on asphalt.

I had some technical difficulties with my old camera.  I've never plugged the camera I bought from you in yet so I'll try that one.  I'll have to get some mounts for it though.  I have a little bit of cell phone video, but I'll try and do better than that.

My favorite thing about it right now is landing and super easy reverse launch.  That works flawlessly

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here´s a quick translation of the German review. Please excuse if one or two things dont make perfect sense. I am 100% bilingual English/German but as a newbie to this my "Kiteish" isn´t perfect yet.:mosking:

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Single-skins are the speciality of developer Steffen Born. The NASA Star put kites on longboards and started streetkiting with extremely short strings. This year, the LongStar 2 started the departure from the NASA wing concept. According to current findings, the Street Star was conceived at Born-Kite.

Why shouldn't the StreetStar be a kite? Canopy, bridle, bar – it has everything except flying lines. And the concept has deliberately dispensed with these. On the one side the wing should be usable in a narrow space, like on the road as the name suggests – where there is not always much space. On the other side the StreetStar is not like a kite when passing pedestrians or cyclists because the sail directly next to the rider has a manageable radius of action. And there is much less danger than with a high flying kite.

The design of the canopy with the profiling of the leading edge using small rods and the single-skin concept match the expectations we have for the manufacturer Born-Kite. However, the control concept and the handling possibilities that are thus created are completely new. With only one hand, the wing can be steered, powered and depowered without having to hook it into a harness. How this could work was a mystery to us until we could try it ourselves. And it works! Whether you tilt the control handle to the left or right, the wing follows this impulse. If you pull the bottom of the handle down the power rises, if you push it upward, the StreetStar loses much traction. Its unhooked depower is a real sensation!

Lukas Kruse, Tester, 17 years: "On a longboard the thing is awesome. You can control the kite well and you don't need worry about it all the time, just focus on the road. "

The StreetStar can also easily be used for landboarding. And in winter it should be interesting with skis. Then the wing could step into the footsteps of Parawing and Kitewing. We also tried the Street Star in a small kite buggy where the NASA Star is a safe bet for Beginners. Here it offers an added value on hard surfaces, however it requires active flying. On a bike the cultivated power development can also play out its strengths. But the Street Star is made for the longboard and that is where it shows its true strengths.

It was impressive how quickly our testers got used to the extraordinary control. If you put the experience you have had with a normal bar to the side, the control can be very intuitive. The restart, if the Street Star is on the ground upside down is also easy and intuitive to perform. At the top of the handle is a loop designed to secure the kite on the ground or to attach the safety leash. With this leash attached to your belt or wrist the Street Star can be released at any time and then migrates to the wind window edge with no pressure. This works even in storms. For long tours – which is particularly interesting on snow a harness connection is offered which attaches the kite in the middle position to the control handle and via a Safety release.

We tested the 4.0 square meter version. In our first tests in two wind strengths the kite rose, but required a skilful hand on the "joystick". Three Beaufort should be enough to use this size. 4 to lower 5 Beaufort turned out to be ideal to go on a ride with power in reserve. Design and variability simply allow more wind than with the NASA Star. Thanks to Depower, the power is retrieved as needed, and more speed does not necessarily mean increased lateral forces, which brings significant advantages when driving upwind. If it storms, the kite immediately pulls off when powering and indicates that a smaller size would make sense.

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I finally bought a street star 6.     I was hesitating with a nasawing depower9 12,75  wich is cheaper but to big for  road kiting 

Inbetween Richard gave me back a npw9 7,5 m , it will be interessting to compare with the street star 

Nasawing with bridles along  the bar :

 

nasaforside_si.jpg

Edited by Freda Latou
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  • 2 weeks later...

I  got the 6 m     but nowind those days       i flew it with apparent wind.   Dont Know why front lines end in one line ( tangle avoiding maybe), i use to holld the bar in one hand  and he upper front line in the other in low winds with the NASA, that s the only way to keep  the wing in  the air    i will change that

Due to ni wind i cant say nothing but i like the kite    always ready to fly, no line tangle when Packed as described on the video

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